Jim Starling is the central character of a series of seven books for young people written by

Edmund Wallace Hildick Edmund Wallace Hildick (1925–2001) was a prolific children's book author, who wrote under the name E. W. Hildick. He wrote, amongst others, the Ghost Squad, Jim Starling, Birdy Jones, Jack McGurk and Lemon Kelly series. Background He was b ...

. Each book in the series details an episode in the lives of four close friends, Jim, Terry, Nip and Goggles, who call themselves the Last Apple Gang. They are all pupils at a boy's secondary modern school in the town of "Smogbury" in the north of England. Each book contains a central theme, for example, in ''Jim Starling Goes To Town'' (1963) the boys go down to London to watch

Burnley FC Burnley Football Club () is an English association football club based in Burnley, Lancashire, that competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football, following relegation from the 2021–22 Premier League. Founded on 1 ...

in the

1962 FA Cup Final The 1962 FA Cup Final took place on 5 May 1962 at Wembley Stadium and was won by Tottenham Hotspur over Burnley, by a 3–1 scoreline. Due to the lack of passion and excitement, replaced by patience and cautious play, the final was dubbed "The Che ...

; and one or more related sub plots, a common one being a feud with a teacher or rival peer group. In order of publication, the books are * ''Jim Starling'' (1958) * ''Jim Starling and the Agency'' (1958) * ''Jim Starling and the Colonel'' (1960) * ''Jim Starling's Holiday'' (1960) * ''Jim Starling Takes Over'' (1963) * ''Jim Starling and the Spotted Dog'' (1963) * ''Jim Starling Goes To Town'' (1963) None of the books have been published since 1971.

Assessment

During the time that they were readily available to young readers (in the children's section of the nation's public libraries) opinion was sharply divided on the series' merit: some praised them for their

social realism Social realism is the term used for work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers and filmmakers that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structure ...

, but others believed they stereotyped working-class childhood.

References

External links

Jim Starling Series

E. W. Hildick at Fantastic Fiction
Series of children's books British children's novels 20th-century British novels 1958 children's books {{1960s-child-novel-stub